Short game analysis system

ABSTRACT

The present invention generally relates to lightweight, portable robot for analyzing golf balls for short game performance attributes. The preferred robot is specifically designed to be lightweight and portable and to be able to hit a golf ball off of the ground or a mat that simulates the ground such that realistic short game performance of clubs and balls can be evaluated.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S.Application Ser. No. 14/557,688, filed on Dec. 2, 2014, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally a short game analysis systemcomprised of a portable hitting robot, a hitting mat and an analysislaunch monitor.

2. Brief Review of the Related Art

The golf game is comprised of many facets: driving, fairway metal shots,iron shots and putting. However, one of the most important facets toscoring well is the short game, those wedge shots that are about 125yards and shorter. The short game also includes very short shots frombunkers, rough, hard pan lies and soft fairways. The short game, thus,comprises many different types of shots from many different conditionsand testing products to confirm that they enable a player to have thebest opportunities for a good short game is very difficult.

In order to test golf products, many robots and launch monitors havebeen designed. Hitting robots date back to at least U.S. Pat. No.3,373,612, which issued in 1968. This GolfCraft robot was used byAcushnet Company for many years to demonstrate the improvements andsuperior quality in the Acushnet golf balls over the competition. Therobot was relatively simple in that it had a reverse motor that wouldmove the club arm in correspondence to the golfer's backswing and thenautomatically release the arm at the end of the back swing. Potentialenergy storing means, a spring, was energized through the backswing andthen would apply a driving force to the club arm to drive the clubthrough the foreswing. The robot further allowed the club to be manuallycocked prior to the backswing and then released so that the swing couldmimic the wrist action of a golfer.

Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art robot 10 is substantially similar tothat patented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,761, but it is placed on a movablebase 12. The robot 10 has base 12, a plurality of wheels 14, aservomotor 16, a swing arm 18 and swing wrist 20. The golf club 22 iscoupled to the swing wrist 20. The swing arm 18 and the swing wrist 20are powered by the servomotor 16 through a gearbox such that the entireextent of the swing can be controlled by a specified angular positionand the torque of the servomotor can be increased by a ratio of about8-1. The swing arm 18 and the servomotor 16 are coupled to the base 12by a plurality of swivel plates 24 and a plurality of mounting plates26. The mounting plates 26 can be rotated to adjust the robot around aplane parallel to the object to be struck and the swivel plates 24 canbe adjusted to adjust the lie angle of the golf club. The robot, likeprevious robots, is designed to swing a club so that it hits a golf balloff of a tee. Due to the gearbox, any impact force felt from the clubhas an extremely high reflective inertia force on the motor. For examplewith a torque ratio of 8-1, the reflective inertia torque from the golfclub on the motor would be 64-1. Thus, golf club impacts can severelydamage the electric motor. Overall, the robot, including the frame,swivel plates, mounting plates, swing arm and swing wrist, isconstructed primarily of structural steel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to lightweight, portable robotfor analyzing golf balls for short game performance attributes. Thepreferred robot is specifically designed to be lightweight and portableand to be able to hit a golf ball off of the ground or a mat thatsimulates the ground such that realistic short game performance can beevaluated.

The portable golf hitting robot according to the present invention iscomprised of a lightweight frame, a drive shaft coupled to the frame, adrive unit coupled to a first end of the drive shaft and a golf clubgripping member coupled to a distal end of the drive shaft. The golfclub is attached to the golf club gripping member and the drive unitprovides the power to swing the club. The robot further comprises aone-way clutch juxtaposed between the drive unit and the golf clubgripping member such that the club can freely rotate after the driveunit has swung the club through an impact location.

In a preferred embodiment, the golf gripping member forms a lieadjusting plate such that the lie angle of a golf club can be adjusted.The lie adjusting plate preferably includes an arcuate shaped lieadjustment groove that allows the plate to be rotated about an axis thatis perpendicular to the drive shaft axis such that the lie angle of thegolf club can be adjusted. Preferably, the drive shaft axis extendsthrough or approximate to the golf club grip and the golf club isrotated in a pendulum manner about the drive shaft axis.

The preferred drive unit is a pneumatic rotary actuator and the robotfurther includes an air reservoir. The pneumatic rotary actuatorpreferably has sufficient torque to rotate the club head using less thana 4-1 torque ratio and preferably less than 2-1. Most preferably, thepneumatic rotary actuator is coupled to the golf club gripping memberwithout any gear members such that the torque ratio from the actuator tothe golf club gripping member is 1-1. This minimizes the reflectiveinertia from the club impacting a ground element. The robot furthercomprises pneumatic controls for adjusting the amount of torque appliedto the golf club by the drive unit. The robot can further include a discbrake coupled to the drive shaft and brake calipers for stopping therotation of the golf club. Preferably, a cam is coupled to the driveunit for actuating the brake calipers, which are preferably operated bya pneumatic actuation.

The frame is structurally small and lightweight. Preferably, the frameincludes a plurality of arms, each of the arms having a pivot couplingat a first end to pivotally attach to the main body member. The armsalso include ground abutting members at the distal ends. The groundabutting members can be pads, spikes or wheels, for example. The robotframe is preferably comprised of aluminum such that the entire robotweighs less than about 250 lbs, and more preferably, less than 150 lbs.More preferably, the robot weighs less than about 100 lbs.

The present invention is also directed to a portable golf hitting robotsystem, comprising a robot and a ground simulating element. The robotpreferably includes a frame, a drive shaft coupled to the frame, a driveunit coupled to a first end of the drive shaft for supplying powerthereto and a golf club gripping member coupled to a distal end of thedrive shaft. The robot further comprises a one-way clutch juxtaposedbetween the drive unit and the golf club gripping member. The groundsimulating element is a hitting mat that is comprised of a turf layer, afoam layer coupled to a bottom surface of the turf layer, a firststructural layer coupled to a bottom surface of the foam layer, a base,and a plurality of springs juxtaposed the base and the first structurallayer. The mat is designed to flex such that when a golf ball is struckoff of the mat, the forces from the mat on the ball simulate the forcesfrom the ground.

The present invention also contemplates a portable golf hitting robotsystem for swinging a golf club that comprises a frame, a drive shaftcoupled to the frame, a pneumatic rotary actuator coupled to a first endof the drive shaft for supplying power thereto and a golf club grippingmember coupled to a distal end of the drive shaft for coupling the golfclub to the robot. The torque ratio from the pneumatic rotary actuatorto the golf club gripping member is preferably less than 2-1, and morepreferably 1-1. Thus, the golf club can be rotated in a pendulum mannerdirectly about the drive shaft axis which extends proximate a gripportion of the golf club and impact a ground element and the reflectiveinertia from the impact will be minimized.

The present invention is also directed to a portable golf hitting robotand a method of using the robot. In order to simulate short gameconditions, a golf ball is placed on the ground or on a groundsimulating mat and struck with a golf club having 48 degrees of loft ormore. Preferably, the golf club is not attached to the robot through aswing arm and/or swing wrist, but rather is coupled to a club grippingmember that is rotated about the axis of a drive shaft. Thus, the robotis comprised of a frame, a drive shaft coupled to the frame, a driveunit coupled to a first end of the drive shaft for supplying powerthereto and a golf club gripping member coupled to a distal end of thedrive shaft such that the torque ratio is 1-1. The club is thus rotatedin a pendulum manner about the drive shaft axis which extends proximatethe golf club grip. The robot can further include a one-way clutchjuxtaposed between the drive unit and the golf club gripping member anda disc brake for stopping the rotation of the golf club. Preferably, theground element is a hitting mat that simulates the forces on the golfball when struck and includes a force measuring device to measure thecontact force between the club and the mat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features that are characteristic of the present invention areset forth in the appended claims. However, the preferred embodiments ofthe invention, together with further objects and attendant advantages,are best understood by reference to the following detailed descriptionin connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a prior art robot;

FIG. 2 is a front, right side perspective view of a robot according tothe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a back, right side perspective view of a robot according tothe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hitting mat according to the presentinvention

FIG. 6 is a front, right side perspective view of a robot according tothe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a front, right side close-up view of the robot in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a side view of the robot according to FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Using golf ball hitting robots to evaluate golf balls and golf clubs isnot new. Robots are particularly useful in that they can apply a veryrepeatable swing so that different golf balls or clubs can be compared.Launch monitors such as that disclosed in US Publication No.2005/0272516 can be used to detect variations associated with club, balland robot performance. Hitting robots have heretofore been designed tohit drivers and other clubs. However, their primary use is to evaluateclub and ball performance for longer shots. Thus, the robots include ahitting arm such that the golf swing is imitated as much as possible.The robots are not used for short game performance evaluation. Onereason is that the short game, hitting wedges of 48 degrees or more,generally involves hitting down on the ball and pinching the ballbetween the club and the ground.

The present invention generally relates to lightweight, portable robotfor analyzing golf balls for short game performance attributes. Thepreferred robot is specifically designed to be lightweight and portableand to be able to hit a golf ball off of the ground or a mat thatsimulates the ground such that realistic short game performance can beevaluated.

Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the preferred portable golf hitting robot 100 isdesigned to hit a golf club 102 under short game conditions.Accordingly, the robot 100 is comprised of a lightweight frame 104. Theframe includes a main body member 106 and a plurality of arms 108. Thearms 108 are preferably coupled to the main body member 106 by pivotcouplings 110. With each arm 108 independently coupled to the main bodymember 106, they can be independently adjusted so that the robot 100 canbe used on uneven terrain, such as a fairway with undulation or even ina sand trap. At the distal ends of the arms 108 are ground abutting pads112. Wheels can be added at the distal end of the arms 108 for increasedmobility. However, pads 112 are preferred for stability when the clubhead contacts the ground during the hitting motion. For increasedadjustability, the arms 108 can be made to telescope or arm extensionsthat telescope can be added to the ends of the arms.

The golf club 102 is powered by or swung in a pendulum motion by therotary actuating system 120. The system 120 is comprised of a driveshaft 122 coupled to the frame's main body member 106, a drive unit 124coupled to a first end of the drive shaft 122 for supplying powerthereto and a golf club gripping member 130 coupled to a distal end ofthe drive shaft 122. The golf club 102 is attached to the golf clubgripping member 130 and the drive unit 124 provides the power to swingthe club. The robot 100 further comprises a one-way clutch 126juxtaposed between the drive unit 124 and the golf club gripping member130 such that the club head can freely swing after the drive unit 124has stopped rotating.

In a preferred embodiment, the golf gripping member 130 is a lieadjusting plate with a plurality of clamps 132 to secure the club to theplate 130. Clamps 132 or other means to secure the club such as a colletwith a self-locking taper should make sure that the club is stillretained to the robot even if power is lost. The clamps 132 allow foreasy adjustment of the club face from a square to open or closedposition. The lie adjusting plate 130 preferably includes an arcuateshaped lie adjustment groove 134 that allows the plate to be rotatedabout an axis that is perpendicular to the drive shaft axis 128 suchthat the lie angle of the golf club can be adjusted. Identificationmarks on the plate 130 can be used to confirm the lie angle relative tothe robot. Preferably, the drive shaft axis 128 extends through orapproximate to the golf club grip and the golf club 102 is rotated in apendulum manner about the drive shaft axis 128. Most preferably, aportion of the golf club grip is located within 4 inches of the driveshaft axis 128. In this embodiment of the invention, the weightassociated with robot swing arms and wrists is eliminated and the sizeof the drive unit can be significantly reduced because less weight isbeing rotated.

The preferred drive unit 124 is a pneumatic rotary actuator such as arack and pinion type series NRCA1 from SMC Corporation of America.Different sizes can be selected depending on the amount of force ortorque desired and the angular rotation of the actuator. The applicantshave found that the 180 degree actuation angle is more than sufficient.The robot further comprises pneumatic controls 136 for adjusting theamount of force applied to the golf club by the drive unit 124 and anair reservoir 138 coupled to the pneumatic actuator 124. Differenthitting conditions can also affect the amount of pressure required.Also, if more club speed is required based on the amount of forceavailable from an actuator, a swing arm, not shown, can be added to thesystem so that the club head speed is increased. Preferably, a pneumaticrotary actuator such as SMC's Rack & Pinion Type Series NCRA1BW80-190Cis directly coupled through the drive shaft to the golf club grippingmember such that the torque ratio is 1-1. Thus, when the club headimpacts the ground, the reflective inertia back to the pneumatic rotaryactuator is minimized. Further, a spring member can be located in thedrive shaft 122 such that it absorbs reflective forces from the clubhead impacting the ground.

The robot can further include a disc brake 140 coupled to the driveshaft 122 and brake calipers 142 for stopping the rotation of the golfclub. Preferably, a cam 144 is coupled to the drive unit 124 or driveshaft 122 for actuating the brake calipers 142 after the club head hascontacted the golf ball. Preferably, the cam 144 hits a pneumaticactuation trigger or an electronic trigger, not shown, and is coupled tobe in a fixed angular orientation relative to the drive unit 124. Thus,when the drive unit 124 reaches the end of its rotation, preferably whenthe club head 102 is approximately 10 to 90 degrees past the ball impactlocation, the cam 144 actuates the trigger to actuate the disc brakecalipers 142.

The preferable frame 104 is structurally small and lightweight.Preferably, the robot frame 104 is comprised of aluminum such that theentire robot weighs less than about 150 lbs. More preferably, the robotweighs less than about 100 lbs.

In another preferred embodiment, a spring member or shock absorber canbe juxtaposed the golf club and the golf club gripping member such thatthe impact of the club head hitting the ground can be partially absorbedand the reflective forces on the robot reduced. For example, thegripping mechanism could allow motion of the golf club in the axialdirection and the spring could limit twisting forces. Alternatively, avery stiff spring could be used to couple the golf club to the robot toallow movement in all directions.

The present invention also includes a ground simulating hitting mat 200.Referring to FIG. 5, the mat preferably includes a turf layer 202, afoam layer 204 coupled to a bottom surface of the turf layer 202, afirst structural layer 206 coupled to a bottom surface of the foam layer204, a base 208, and a plurality of springs 210 juxtaposed the base 208and the first structural layer 206. The base 208 and the firststructural layer 206 are stiff members and can be made from plywood orthe like. The mat 200 is designed to be flexible such that when a golfball is struck off of the mat 200, the forces from the mat on the ballsimulate the forces from the ground. In this manner, multiple hits canbe made off of the mat 200 without moving the robot 100 and the golfclub can still impact the golf ball at a downward angle such as thatused in real player shots. Preferably, either the club or the mat caninclude stress and strain gages to measure the impact force and torquebetween the mat and the club such that the force created by differentsole configurations can be measured. If the club is also going to betested in actual turf, it is better to have the force measuring devicedirectly coupled to the club. For example, sensors can easily be coupledto the shaft of the club to measure impact force and torque so that theforce of impact can be measured and compared.

The present invention is also directed to a method of simulating shortshot performance with a portable robot. In order to simulate short gameconditions, a golf ball is placed on the ground or on a groundsimulating mat and struck with a golf club having 48 degrees of loft ormore. Preferably, the golf club is not attached to the robot through aswing arm and/or swing wrist, but rather is coupled to a club grippingmember that is rotated about the axis of a drive shaft. Thus, the robotis comprised of a frame, a drive shaft coupled to the frame, a driveunit coupled to a first end of the drive shaft for supplying powerthereto and a golf club gripping member coupled to a distal end of thedrive shaft such that the torque ratio from the drive unit to the clubgripping member is 1-1. The club is thus rotated in a pendulum mannerabout the drive shaft axis which extends proximate the golf club grip.By rotating the club in a circular motion about the drive shaft, theangle of impact with the ball and ground can be easily adjusted bymoving the ball with respect to the vertical plane that includes thedrive shaft axis. For example, if the ball is located directly in thevertical plane, the club head can impact the ball at its lowest point ofthe arc and have a flat impact direction. However, if the ball is movedback relative to the vertical plane and the height of the grippingmember lowered, the club head can impact the ball at a steep angle ofattack to pinch the ball between the club head and the ground as manyplayers do. The robot can further be comprised of a one-way clutchjuxtaposed between the drive unit and the golf club gripping member anda disc brake for stopping the rotation of the club head. Preferably, theground element is a hitting mat that simulates the forces on the golfball when struck so that repeated shots from the same location can bemade.

The robot can also be repositioned after impact by moving the robot onwheels, tractor treads or rails. Directional wheels such as Vex MecanumWheels or Vex Omni Wheels are preferred for multidirectional control. Asmall motor can be used to adjust the position of the robot, which canbe moved with a joystick or a stereo vision system or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 6-8, another embodiment of the preferred portablegolf hitting robot 300 is designed to hit a golf club under short gameconditions. Accordingly, the robot 300 is comprised of a lightweightframe 304. The frame includes a main body member 306 and a plurality ofarms 308. In this embodiment, the arms 308 are preferably coupled to themain body member 306 and are powered by electric motors 310. With eacharm 308 independently coupled to the main body member 306, they can beindependently adjusted so that the robot 300 can be used on uneventerrain, such as a fairway with undulation or even in a sand trap andcan be adjusted for different shots as discussed below. At the distalends of the arms 308 are ground abutting piston ends 312. Preferably,wheels can be added at the piston ends 312 for increased mobility. Forincreased adjustability, the piston ends 312 telescope within the arms308 and have a travel distance of between about 10 to 20 inches so thatthey can be made to extend to any desired length independently by aremote controller. The robot 300 can be adjusted for lie angle of theclub by actuating the electric motors 310 in a front-to-back manner. Inother words, the front two piston ends 312(a) and 312(b) can be extendedrelative to the back piston end 312(c) to decrease the lie angle of theclub to be hit. Conversely, the rear piston end 312(c) can be extendedrelative to the front piston ends 312(a) and (b) to increase the lieangle of the club. The robot 300 can also be adjusted to manipulate theclub angle of decent by moving the ball relative to the front twopistons 312(a) and 312(b). For example, by moving the ball closer to thearm end 312(a) on the right side of the hitting location, the club'sangle of decent can be decreased to have a flatter impact or to hit upon the ball. Conversely, by moving the ball closer to the left pistonend 312(b) relative to the right piston end 312(a), the club's angle ofdecent can be increased such that the club hits down on the ball at asteeper angle.

Preferably, the robot includes several operating switches for the arms312. For example, a first switch can raise and lower the front arms312(a) and (b) simultaneously. A second and third switch can raise andlower the front arms 312 (a) and (b) respectively, so that they can beindependently adjusted. Finally, a fourth switch can raise and lower theback arm 312(c). Each of the switches preferably includes a fast modeand a slow mode to better operate the arms 312.

The golf club is powered by or swung in a pendulum motion by the rotaryactuating system 320. The system 320 is comprised of a drive shaft 322coupled to the frame's main body member 306, a drive unit 324 coupled toa first end of the drive shaft 322 for supplying power thereto and agolf club gripping member 330 coupled to a distal end of the drive shaft322. The golf club is attached to the golf club gripping member 330 andthe drive unit 324 provides the power to swing the club. The robot 300further comprises a one-way clutch 326 juxtaposed between the drive unit324 and the golf club gripping member 330 such that the club head canfreely swing after the drive unit 324 has stopped rotating. Preferably,the drive unit 324 rotates approximately 180 to 200 degrees and stopsrotating when the club is just before or at impact with the golf ball.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the golf gripping member330 is coupled to the drive shaft 322 through a face angle adjustmentrotator 332. The face angle of the club head can be opened or closed byrotating the gripping member 330 relative to the face angle adjustmentrotator 332 and then locking it in place. Moreover, the gripping member330 is coupled to a club loft adjustment plate 334, which is rotatablyattached to the arm member 336 via a locking mechanism 338. The clubloft adjustment plate 334 rotates to increase or decrease the loft ofthe club head to simulate different shots hit by golfers.

The preferred drive unit 324 is a pneumatic rotary actuator such as arack and pinion type series NRCA1 from SMC Corporation of America.Different sizes can be selected depending on the amount of force ortorque desired and the angular rotation of the actuator. The applicantshave found that the 180 degree actuation angle is more than sufficient.The robot further comprises pneumatic controls for adjusting the amountof force applied to the golf club by the pneumatic rotary actuator 324and an air reservoir coupled to the pneumatic rotary actuator 324.Different hitting conditions can also affect the amount of pressurerequired. Also, if more club speed is required based on the amount offorce available from an actuator, swing arm 336, can be added to thesystem so that the club head speed is increased. Preferably, the swingarm 336 has a fixed length or is adjustable such that the length betweenthe drive shaft axis 322 and the center of the gripping member 330 isbetween about 4 to 20 inches, and more preferably, between about 8 and18 inches. Most preferably, the length between the drive shaft axis 322and the center of the gripping member 330 is between about 10 and 12inches.

A pneumatic rotary actuator such as SMC's Rack & Pinion Type SeriesNCRA1BW100-190C, which can provide up to 1500 in*lbs of torque from 150psi, is coupled through the drive shaft 322 and to the golf clubgripping member 330 via a belt drive 350. The belt drive 350 includes afirst belt pulley 352 coupled to the drive unit and a second belt drivepulley 354 that is coupled to the drive shaft 322. The first and secondbelt drive pulleys are sized to create a torque ratio that is between0.5-1 to 4-1, and more preferably, about 1-1 to 2-1. Thus, sufficientspeed and force can be applied to the club head, but when the club headimpacts the ground, the reflective inertia back to the pneumatic rotaryactuator is minimized. Further, the rubber belt 350 absorbs reflectiveforces from the club head impacting the ground, acting as a damper.

The robot can further include a disc brake 340 comprised of one or morediscs and calipers coupled to the drive shaft 322 for stopping therotation of the golf club. Preferably, a plurality of disc brakes 340are used and a cam is coupled to the drive shaft 322 for actuating thebrake calipers after the club head has contacted the golf ball.Preferably, the cam hits a pneumatic actuation trigger and is coupled tobe in a fixed angular orientation relative to the drive shaft 322. Thus,when the drive shaft 322 reaches a preselected end of its rotation,preferably when the club head is approximately 10 to 90 degrees past theball impact location, the cam hits the pneumatic trigger to actuate thedisc brakes 340.

For operator safety, the robot can be fitted with a laser safety scannerthat can disable the electronic firing mechanism if a person or objectis too close to where the club will be swung. For example a laserscanner such as a Keyence SZ-01S can scan 270 degrees and a distance of4.2 meters. Thus, if a person accidently walks into the robot area, theelectronic firing mechanism can be shut off. Further, the robot'selectronic firing mechanism can include a multi-button firing control. Aradio remote control can include an enable button as well as the swingbutton to actuate the robot into swing mode. Furthermore, a master modeswitch can completely disable the firing circuits when the operator issetting up the robot. The two modes for the master mode switch arepreferably run and setup to provide the operator an additional safetymechanism.

While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein fulfill the objectives stated above, it is appreciatedthat numerous modifications and other embodiments may be devised bythose skilled in the art. Therefore, it will be understood that theappended claims are intended to cover all modifications and embodimentswhich would come within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

We claim:
 1. A portable golf hitting robot, comprising: a frame, a driveshaft coupled to the frame, a drive unit coupled to a first end of thedrive shaft for supplying torque thereto and a golf club gripping membercoupled to a distal end of the drive shaft, and the robot furthercomprising a one-way clutch and a belt drive juxtaposed between thedrive unit and the golf club gripping member, wherein the torque appliedfrom the drive unit to the golf club gripping member is at a ratio ofless than 4-1.
 2. The portable golf hitting robot of claim 1, whereinthe golf gripping member is coupled to face angle adjustment rotatorsuch that the face angle of a golf club can be adjusted.
 3. The portablegolf hitting robot of claim 1, wherein the gripping member coupled to aclub loft adjustment plate that is adjustably coupled to the drive shaftsuch that the loft angle of the golf club can be adjusted.
 4. Theportable golf hitting robot of claim 1, wherein the drive unit is apneumatic rotary actuator coupled to the drive shaft through the beltdrive to provide torque at a ratio of between 0.5-1 and 4-1.
 5. Theportable golf hitting robot of claim 1, wherein the drive unit is apneumatic rotary actuator coupled to the drive shaft through the beltdrive to provide torque at a ratio of between 1-1 and 2-1.
 6. Theportable golf hitting robot of claim 1, wherein the robot furtherincludes a disc brake coupled to the drive shaft, brake calipers and acam coupled to the drive unit for actuating the brake calipers.
 7. Theportable golf hitting robot of claim 1, wherein the frame includes aplurality of arms, each of the arms having an electric motor at a firstend and a ground abutting member at a distal end.
 8. The portable golfhitting robot of claim 4, wherein the robot further comprises pneumaticcontrols for adjusting the amount of force applied to the golf club bythe drive unit.
 9. The portable golf hitting robot of claim 1, whereinthe frame is comprised of aluminum and the robot weighs less than about250 lbs.
 10. A portable golf hitting robot system for swinging a golfclub, comprising: a frame, a drive shaft coupled to the frame, apneumatic rotary actuator coupled to a first end of the drive shaft forsupplying power thereto and a golf club gripping member adjustablycoupled to a distal end of the drive shaft for coupling the golf club tothe robot, wherein the torque ratio from the pneumatic rotary actuatorto the golf club gripping member is less than 4-1, and wherein the golfclub is rotated in a pendulum manner about the drive shaft axis whichextends within 8 to 18 inches from a center of the gripping member. 11.The portable golf hitting robot of claim 10, wherein the golf grippingmember is coupled to face angle adjustment rotator such that the faceangle of a golf club can be adjusted.
 12. The portable golf hittingrobot of claim 10, wherein the gripping member coupled to a club loftadjustment plate that is adjustably coupled to the drive shaft such thatthe loft angle of the golf club can be adjusted.
 13. The portable golfhitting robot of claim 10, wherein the pneumatic rotary actuator iscoupled to the drive shaft through a belt drive to provide torque at aratio of between 1-1 and 2-1.
 14. The portable golf hitting robot ofclaim 10, further comprising at least three arms coupled to the frameand powered by individual electric motors such that the length of eacharm can be independently adjusted.
 15. The portable golf hitting robotof claim 10, further comprising a laser safety scanner and amulti-button firing control.
 16. A portable golf hitting robot system,comprising: a frame, a drive shaft coupled to the frame, a drive unit, abelt drive coupled to the drive unit and a first end of the drive shaftand a golf club gripping member coupled to a distal end of the driveshaft, and the robot further comprising a one-way clutch juxtaposedbetween the drive unit and the golf club gripping member, wherein therobot can swing a golf club attached thereto and impact a golf ball offof a ground element; and wherein the ground element is a hitting matcomprised of a turf layer, a foam layer coupled to a bottom surface ofthe turf layer, a first structural layer coupled to a bottom surface ofthe foam layer, a base, and a plurality of springs juxtaposed the baseand the first structural layer.